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‘Work and Social Role Valorization’

I recently ran across this 2 page information sheet, from an agency in Australia, which describes an employment service from a specifically Social Role Valorization perspective. The info. sheet makes reference to the 2006 article published by Joe Osburn, An Overview of Social Role Valorization Theory [published in the 1(1) edition of The SRV Journal]. This information sheet could be used as an exercise in an SRV workshop, college class or staff meeting, to help people think about imagery issues from an SRV perspective.

Language and miscellaneous imagery (including logos) are two of the ‘channels’ through which images about people (p. 66, SRV monograph by W. Wolfensberger, 1998 3rd rev. ed.) and their social roles (p. 107, SRV monograph by W. Wolfensberger, 1998 3rd rev. ed.) can be communicated. In the PASSING manual (2007 3rd rev. ed.), these issues are discussed under R1432 Serving entity, program, setting, and location names (p. 259) and R145 Image projection of miscellaneous aspects of a service (p. 277).

Take a look at the information sheet from these SRV angles:

• find as many examples of language use and miscellaneous images (logos, symbols) in the information sheets as possible

• what do the language examples communicate about societally devalued people (e.g., their age, social status, roles, etc.)?

• what do the image examples communicate about societally devalued people (e.g., their age, social status, roles, etc.)?

• is the language consistent with the culturally valued analog?

• what image messages about societally devalued people would likely be communicated by these language and image examples?

• overall, considering all of the image messages, what general impression(s) is created about the societally devalued people referred to in the info. sheet?

• how would such image messages likely shape the perception of devalued people in the minds of others?

• how might these perceptions affect the way devalued people are treated by others?